Cassie caught Chris' smile and for a minute she thought it was going to be okay. It didn't last, though. The smile faded, replaced once more by that hurt and angry look. Cassie couldn't stand seeing that look. She couldn't stand having it directed at her. Chris was one of her best friends in the world. There were things she'd told him that she couldn't tell anyone. Whatever her reasons for not talking to him about this, it wasn't because she didn't trust him. There was no one in her life she trusted more.
When he started to walk away from them, Cassie didn't hesitate. She spared a brief glance at Charles. "I have to- I can't." Somehow, she knew he would understand what she couldn't say and she chased after Chris, reaching out to touch his arm as if she could make him stop with the gesture.
"Chris, please- Don't- can we just- talk about this? Please." She sounded desperate and pathetic, but she didn't care. She couldn't just leave it like that. She had to explain. She had to try, anyway.